Shares of EBay, which also expects fourth-quarter profit marginally above analysts’ estimates, rose as much as 6.0% in after-hours trading. The shares have fallen 27% so far in 2018.
The San Jose, California-based company has been splurging on product developments, brand marketing and making its website more user-friendly to better compete with increased competition in the online shopping sphere, while also cutting jobs to rein in costs.
“Effective expenses management has resulted in consistent EPS upside,” said DA Davidson & Co analyst Thomas Forte.
EBay’s initiatives like grouped listings that let buyers see all identical items grouped together, personal recommendations, and a simplified payment process have also helped lure more online shoppers. The company said it had 177 million active buyers in the third quarter, compared to 175 million in the second.
EBay forecast fourth-quarter adjusted profit of 67 cents to 69 cents per share and revenue of US$2.85 billion (RM11.92 billion) to US$2.89 billion.
Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 67 cents per share and revenue of US$2.90 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Revenue from StubHub, EBay’s marketplace for event tickets, rose 6.0% to US$286 million, setting aside some fears of slowing growth in the business and showing that a strategy of expanding into international and non-traditional ticket markets was bearing fruit.
“StubHub delivered modest volume acceleration in Q3, driven primarily by strength in concerts, partially offset by a weaker NFL performance,” Chief Executive Officer Devin Wenig said on a post-earnings call.
However, EBay’s total gross merchandise volume (GMV), the value of goods sold on its websites within a certain timeframe, rose 4.8% to US$22.72 billion in the third quarter, but missed Refinitiv estimates of US$23.40 billion.
The company’s profit rose to US$721 million, or 73 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept 30, from US$520 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned 56 cents per share, beating estimates of 54 cents.
Net revenue rose 6% to US$2.65 billion, in line with analyst expectations.